In today’s turbulent times it’s hard enough to stay on track with your
retirement, let alone set aside funds to help you prepare for the unexpected.
A New Perspective review can help – it’s like a 2nd opinion on your finances,
and it’s free. Call me to discuss smart decisions you can make today to help
you regain control of your financial future.

Copyright 2009 Hamilton County Media Group. All rights reserved.
No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission.

Market volatility can make you second-guess your long-term investment
strategy. But now could be the worst possible time to abandon a
well-thought-out investment strategy. Instead, the current market
situation may in fact present opportunities for your portfolio.
Historically, in the two years following a major market downturn,
the market has made swift and dramatic recoveries. On average,
the S&P 500 has increased 67%.*
There are still reasons to be optimistic about the future. We believe
now more than ever, it’s important to stay focused on your long-term
goals. The best mix of investments is one you can stick with in good
times and bad.

*Source: Ned Davis Research, Bloomberg. Cumulative loss % measures S&P 500 without
dividends reinvested.Total return in two years measures S&P with dividends reinvested. The S&P 500
is an unmanaged index and is not available for direct investment. Past performance does
not guarantee future results.

Call today to schedule a
complimentary financial review.
We can discuss your current
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time frame, and evaluate if
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cash?

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(317)

Sarah and Vickie Reynolds,
Owners-ITEX in Indiana
Hamilton County Business Magazine/December 09 • January 10

5

Letter from the Editor/December 09 • January 10
This is an exciting time to be living in Hamilton County. Each
of our cities and towns is in a different state of development, but
all are in the process of reinventing themselves to some degree.
Decisions made in the next few years will impact the character
of this county and its municipalities for generations.
Carmel’s ambitions have been well-documented (including in
these pages) as it sets new standards for suburban development.
Westfield is just starting its initiative around the Grand Junction,
Noblesville is seeking to preserve its unique historical character
while rediscovering the river and expanding its notion of downtown, and the northern Hamilton County communities are using
their small town infrastructures as a foundation for their next
generation of businesses.
None of these is working from as blank a canvas as Fishers. Its
recent residential growth has been so phenomenal that it never
really had a chance to develop a traditional center of town.
Recently a committee of volunteers and town planners designed
a blueprint for Fishers’ future and we take a look at some of their
ideas in this edition.
I am delighted to be reading words like placemaking, livability,
connecting and interactivity in their plans. Those terms may seem
a little touchy feely for some, but this nation has an abundance of
new and expensive developments that ignore those concepts and
fail to create the elusive “sense of place” that makes a community
special. I’m in favor of reining in the engineers and turning the
designers loose. Here’s the perfect opportunity to create wonderful,
inspiring places in Fishers. Go for it!

Conflicting Liquor Laws

The mission of this magazine is to support and encourage
entrepreneurship here in Hamilton County, so in any battle between national chains and local retailers there’s little doubt where
we stand. But, the lines are fuzzy when it comes to our liquor laws.
The Hoosier culture, well-intentioned but antiquated laws and,
of course, politics all play a part in the way we handle liquor sales
here in Indiana. That dawns on many of us the first time
we encounter the roped off liquor aisle in the grocery store.
What’s up with that? Reasonable people hold impassioned views
on both sides of the issue, and Bill Fouts does a terrific job of
illuminating them in his story.
We welcome another new columnist, Robby Slaughter, along with
the stimulating writing of our returning regulars, and profiles of
two terrific Hamilton County businesses: Acorn Farm and Mangia.
Thanks for all the encouragement from you, our readers. Happy
New Year! Have you heard? The recession is over; 2010 is the year
of the recovery. Let’s do business. We can’t wait.
Mike Corbett

IT Marketing for the Small Business
As soon as you tell someone you’ve
started a business, they will likely tell you
that you need to be on the Internet. Not
just a web site, mind you, but on Twitter,
Facebook, YouTube, and a dozen other
virtual places. Before you invest any time
or energy in an undertaking of this sort
you need to ask the question: “How will
this help my business?”
The goal of any marketing campaign
should be to strengthen the company
through increased revenues, whether
by finding new customers or developing
loyalty among existing customers. If
the venues used in an IT marketing
campaign do not help you toward that
goal, then your time and efforts are better
spent elsewhere. Online marketing often

generates buzz rather than revenues
– these two words are not synonymous
and one does not always lead to the other.
Let’s walk through an example. I will purchase a van and the equipment needed to
start Dulaney Carpet Cleaning, servicing both residential and commercial
clients. While there are others out there
now cleaning carpets, I am convinced
– and want to convince you - that I will
be the best. What’s my differentiation?
My equipment is all new and can operate
more efficiently than the older equipment
others use. Equally important: since the
business consists solely of me, I have low
overhead and can price my services just

8

under my competition. With this double
punch of better service and a lower price,
let’s evaluate some of the IT possibilities
before me:

right of the natural search results returned
from the query. I am charged only if someone clicks on the ad, and the payment can
be as low as $0.01.

Website: Even with a business this small,

Blog: A decade ago, every company had

a website offers too much promise to
pass it up. Just having a domain (that can
also be used for my email, avoiding @
gmail, @hotmail, and so on) adds a layer
of credibility. But the primary purpose
for this site must be discovery, serving
two distinct groups: prospects looking for contact information, and search
engines scanning to determine where in
the listing of natural results this site will
fall. While those two are related, the way
each looks at the data differs drastically.
Since my business is cleaning carpets as

opposed to search engine optimization
and server administration, that is where
my time needs to be spent. The site can
be hosted (administered) reasonably
cheaply these days, and a third-party that
specializes in web design and SEO can
take care of creating a site to serve the
two audiences.
I will want to purchase phrases with the
larger search engines and deliver ads to
customers doing a search on them. With
Google, for example, I could register
“carpet cleaning” as AdWords only for
searches done within a 20 mile radius of
my business and have an ad appear to the

December 09 • January 10/Hamilton County Business Magazine

to have a website and it had to be dynamic
– visitors didn’t like coming there and
seeing what they had already seen. Today,
websites have become static and it is the
blogs that provide the dynamic content
–allowing the visitor to see only the new
posting and view old ones only if they
choose to look through the archive. In this
business, a blog can be a great tool since
they are also scanned by the search engines
and included in the results returned.
I could create one blog entry for each
unique type of stain encountered (how to
get the ink from exploding money out of
shag carpeting, how to remove squid ink
from draperies, and so on) and those blog
entries could be found in Google, Yahoo!,
Bing, and other search engines the same
way web pages would.

YouTube: Just as the blog entries can
detail how to get tough stains out, videos
created for YouTube can demonstrate in
a way that other media can’t. Accept the
fact that your short videos will never have
as many viewers as those posted by the
Ting Tings, but those who view them will
have searched for them because they are
interested in the topic and thus each needs
to end with some kind of contact info.
If you post videos in YouTube, you have
the ability to see demographics of those
viewing them, which spots are “hot spots
(are viewers rewinding a particular section,
exiting out when they get to ten seconds
in, etc.), and collect other data (such as
search words used to find them) that can
be invaluable to a marketing campaign.

Twitter: While those who own Twitter
have yet to figure out a way to make money
from it, those companies that send out
coupon codes through it have. DCC can
set up an account in less than ten minutes,
include the link on business cards and
encourage customers to become a follower
in order to take advantage of specials and
promotions. While the list of those who
choose to become followers may be very
small, it can be a great way to drum up
business during slow months with a special
offer only for those who schedule this week
or to send out a 140-character reminder
at the start of fall that walnut stains don’t
come out if they aren’t professionally
cleaned quickly. If you identify key customers using it (such as the office manager who
sends out tweets regularly), you can choose
to follow them on Twitter.
Social Networking: For this business, I
would discourage the use of Facebook
and MySpace since it is difficult to build a
community around a local carpet cleaner
(a discouragement that may not exist with

another type of company). I would, however, embrace LinkedIn which differs from
the other two in that its purpose is more
professional in nature. So much of this
social networking site is based on recommendations and connections and it makes
sense to include a link to the DCC profile
in the email signature.

Online Listings: Given the nature of this
business, both Angie’s List and craigslist
should be considered. While the latter
is free for both posting and viewing, the
former is based on references, subscription-based, and one that you get added to
only through references; so while you can’t
advertise there per se, you can encourage
clients who are subscribers to talk about
you.
Again, the type of company – and the
target market it is pursuing - should always
determine which forms of IT marketing to
employ. There are some companies which
should have no web presence at all (a
prison provider, for example), and others

that exist only as pure plays (Amazon).
Most companies fall between these two extremes and as each technology is evaluated
for use, the question always remains: how
can we benefit from it? Once you’ve picked
the mediums, pick your messages carefully,
allow your customers to choose to hear
them (opt-in instead of opt-out), and don’t
overdo it.

Worth Skimming:

One of the problems with tools that are
easy to use is that it is easy to overlook
their full potential, and LinkedIn is a
good example. I would recommend
that you spend a little time searching
the web to look for good tips on developing a strong LinkedIn profile. Things
like choosing a professional picture are
important to helping develop a quality
page and an example of one site that
has some suggestions is: http://www.
cio.com/article/468067/LinkedIn_Etiquette_Five_Dos_and_Don_ts.
Emmett Dulaney teaches entrepreneurship
and business at Anderson University.

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Making Sure Your Content Counts
6 tips for creating an editorial calendar
You know it’s important to have relevant
and desirable content on your website as a
key tactic for today’s marketing message.
The actual writing of that content is the
hardest part. Getting an editorial calendar
in place is one easy way to make sure your
next few months of content is solid, valuable information that’s ready to go when
you need it. Here are some tips to help you
create your editorial calendar

1. Think about your industry’s
calendar. Are there big tradeshows that

your prospects will be searching for and/or
attending? Is there a peak season for a
certain product? Put these events on your
calendar. They are easy ways to grab traffic
from search terms to your blog or website
by the sheer fact that these are hot topics
people will search for via those key words.
Then make sure you use that tradeshow
name and peak product information in
your posts during that time of the year.

2. Find the right key words. There are
lots of ways to identify key words to write
about. Hold brainstorming sessions with
your client and/or employees. Looking to
Google is one of our favorite ways to build
a key word list. Google Trends allows you
to see what trends are shaping right now.
At publishing deadline on this article,
Halloween was a week away. I placed the
word Halloween in Google Trends to learn
Halloween Safety is the number one trend.
So if I want to attract people to my website
based on Halloween, I would also use the
word safety. Google Insights allows you to

10

see what the world is searching for, or you
can filter your search based on your specific needs. Twitter is another great tool for
monitoring trends and hot topics/words
that are happening right now.

3. Decide how often you need to
release new content. If you’re creating

your editorial calendar just for your blog,
determine how often you plan to post. If
you’re looking for content for a blog, newsletter, case studies, etc., determine how
often to update and how much content
each will need.

4. Consider adding a theme to a day
or week. Think of in terms of a grocery

store experience. Let’s say the weekly circular of coupons comes out each Thursday
and you write a summary each Thursday
for that promotion. You may want to
consider touching base with your audience twice a week, so on Mondays you
always post recipes for dinner ideas with a
reminder that the ingredient for the recipe
is on sale – watch for Thursday’s circular.

5. Use your content as a promotional
tool. Once you have your calendar in

place, you can attract followers and subscribers to your social media platform or
blog by telling them what they can expect
next. You can send out a Tweet on Twitter
about the topic of your next newsletter
with a link to sign up for the newsletter.
This usually attracts at least a few new subscribers based on the fact they want what
you will deliver. Building excitement for
your content becomes a valuable marketing tactic.

December 09 • January 10/Hamilton County Business Magazine

6. Figure out where you can
repurpose. This is still an area that trips

people up a bit. You can take your themes
and content and repurpose them; maybe
in a different medium or maybe during
different times of the year with a slightly
different twist. Think about topics and
shaping them to evolve throughout the
year and place this on your calendar.
When you’re done building a year’s worth
of topics that make sense together, compile
the whole thing in to a white paper or
study that you can promote, and use as a
lead generator on your website. Don’t put
all that hard work in to just one source!
Planning your editorial calendar may take
you a few hours your first time. If you
make this small investment in planning,
though, you’ll find the quality and consistency of your content improve greatly.
If thinking about a year is overwhelming,
chunk it down to the next three months.
You will still benefit from knowing what to
say when you sit down to write, and your
marketing team will appreciate the tactical
approach of creating promotions around
content. This will get easier as you continue building future editorial calendars.
Raquel Richardson is the owner of Silver
Square, a Fishers-based marketing firm
working with companies who want to go
to that next level. You can follow her on
Twitter @SilverSquare or learn more at
www.silversquareinc.com.

A Vibrant, Cultural,
Hometown Destination
Fishers Launches Town Center Project to Steer Development

by Mike Corbett

T

en years from now Fishers will look
much different than it does today. New
businesses and new families will continue to migrate for the same exceptional
quality of life its 70,000 current residents
find so appealing. They will build new
homes, retail shops, factories and offices.
How that building progresses in the
Town Center will be determined by a
process that began earlier this year in
the town’s Development Department.
Director Wes Bucher and Senior Planner
Jodi Dickey organized the Town Center Redevelopment Committee, which
went to the public to find out what they
wanted the center of Fishers to look like

in the future. After hours of discussion
and idea exchanging, the committee
developed a set of Key Concepts and
Design Guidelines, which were recently
presented to the Town Council and
made available to the public.
According to the report, town center
residents expressed a desire to see a mix
of uses, and embraced the idea of being
able to live, work, shop and play in the
downtown area. They said it should accommodate all age ranges. Dickey tells
the story of how, when she asked teenagers what they wanted downtown to be
like, they said they just wanted a place
to hang with friends. When an elderly

women heard that, she piped up,
“That’s the same thing I want!”
In keeping with the principles of “placemaking,” an idea that’s been gaining
popularity nationwide, the committee
tried to envision how people would use
the new spaces in terms of transportation, open space and infrastructure.
They found that residents like the current home town feel, want to add to the
town’s green space and want to encourage diversity of uses and users. In the
end the committee recommended five
distinct districts, each with its own character and architectural standards.

Hamilton County Business Magazine/December 09 • January 10

11

Civic District

The Municipal Complex, residential areas north and west
of the complex and Holland Park.
This part of Town Center should serve as one of the vital
spots for public engagement. Public open space should
be preserved and enhanced. Buildings should be limited
to two stories and existing buildings and green areas
should be showcased. Fairs and festivals should be held
here and this would be the logical place for a train station if the light rail line is launched.

Nickel Plate District

Either side of 116th St.
between the railroad and I-69 and the
retail and residential areas south of
116th and west of the railroad.
This should continue to serve as the
hub of retail development. Connections to other districts are crucial.
Buildings should be taller, 4-5 stories, and have mixed uses (retail first
floor, commercial second floor and
residential above that). This district
would look like a “new urban” downtown. Could have a hotel, conference
center, or museum. Buildings would
be close to the streets but encourage
walking. A pedestrian connection
across I-69 is important.

Northeast Technology District

North of the Nickel Plate District
between the railroad and I-69.
This would continue to house manufacturing and light industrial businesses and could
become a sports hub. A hotel could be added
and could become a popular destination for
sports tournaments. Buildings could have a
variety of styles, sizes, stories and textures.
Connectivity must be improved as it is nearly
impossible to walk or bike here and isn’t even
that easy to get to by car.

12

December 09 • January 10/Hamilton County Business Magazine

Village District

South of the Nickel Plate District between
the railroad and I-69.
Currently this area is exclusively
residential and would retain that character, with the addition of
specialty shops, offices and
live-work homes. Buildings should
be a maximum of three stories and
remain residential. On street parking
is encouraged and people would be
able to walk to a number of different
destinations. Pedestrian amenities,
open spaces and places to gather and
participate in social activities are
important. Streets and sidewalks
would receive special attention: streets
would be narrow and walkable.
Access to the railroad is important.

Prairie Commons District

North of 106th St. and south of the Village
District between the railroad and I-69.
This area currently contains apartments,
new office buildings and a park which
should be better connected to each other.
Prairie style architecture should be employed in new office buildings and the district should take advantage of good visibility
to I-69. Buildings would be limited mostly
to two story, though taller multi-family
would be permitted. Pedestrian and bicycle
connections within the district and to other
districts should be improved and Lantern
Road should be upgraded.

This is the fourth plan for downtown
Fishers since the early 90’s and each
one has had its merits and problems.
The most recent was the Fairmount
plan, launched by a private developer
more than two years ago, which eventually succumbed to the pressures of the
recession. This brings the planning
back into the public sector and is the
most ambitious plan so far.

Jack Wolf, who runs Wolf Insurance from
an office he owns on Lantern Road just
north of 116th St., likes what he’s seen so
far. “I like what they’re proposing. I like
the idea of connecting everything and
having a defined center of town and I
like that they’re setting a direction.” But,
Wolf needs some specifics so he knows
how to plan for the future of his building
and his business.

The public will have the opportunity
to comment further on the proposal.
The Plan Commission will hold a
public hearing, likely in early 2010.
Once the town council approves, the
real work begins. Phase Two gets into
the details of changing ordinances,
creating a capital investment plan,
crafting the framework for publicprivate partnerships and marketing.v

Hamilton County Business Magazine/December 09 • January 10

13

Management
J. Michelle Sybesma

Is The Economy Really the Biggest Factor
in The Health of Your Business?
It may be time for a business check up
Without question, downturns in the
economy have a direct bearing on
your business. Consumers have less
money to spend, which changes their
spending habits. However, they are
still spending. It is important to recognize the “viral emotional effects” of
this economy. If the economy has hurt
your sales and all you ever talk about
is how business is down, it is distinctly
possible you are actually contributing to the downward trend. A natural
desire to relate to others often leaves
people afflicted by “economic group
think.” For example, when radio stations suggest everyone is buying a

do business with your organization.
People at every turn are ready to
start relationships with trustworthy
people who truly appreciate the value
of their money. Yes, the economy is
challenging and people are more
careful than ever about spending
money. However, you can strike deals
and find success.

product, a potential spender is more
likely to consider its merits. Therefore, by telling people that fewer
people are buying your products or
services, you are directly impacting
the likelihood that they will consider
buying from you.

edge-required-to-navigate prompts?
Are the messages welcoming and
full of incentive to do business with
your company?

If you are stuck in a negative social
cycle and not interacting with your
colleagues and associates with a smile,
you might miss more than the next
social event; you might miss the next
sale. Stop telling yourself “business
is down and no one is buying.” Get
out and meet new people! Ask them
to educate you on what they need to

14

Do you ever evaluate how easy it
is to do business with your organization? Start by calling the number
on your website. Call during the day.
Does anyone answer, or do you
get lost in an endless string of knowl-

Sales Down?

Sales are not exclusively about the
health of your sales staff. That is why
sales training does not vaccinate your
business against failure. Do not be
fooled; if your sales staff is tired and
bitter your sales will be also. If your
inside staff is rude or annoyed with
having to take a prospect’s or customer’s calls, they will dial again and the
next dial will be to your competitors.
When your project management

December 09 • January 10/Hamilton County Business Magazine

team puts more creativity into their
excuses for being late than into the
project itself, rest assured their creativity will be recognized. NEVER
make excuses for business failures.
You are only wasting the client’s
time. By getting your internal business health together and treating the
customer as if their time is valuable,
you will ward off the virus of business
failure in most instances.

Take Action

Engage a series of “healthy” team
meetings focused on taking a fresh
look at the top 10 things that you

want your customers and prospects to
remember about your organization.
Discuss with your teams what barriers
exist toward achieving these. A word
of caution, these meetings are not to
be about blaming people for failure.
They are about taking a fresh look at
your priorities. After all, being easy
to do business with is essential to the
health of your organization.
J. Michelle Sybesma is a business
consultant specializing in solving
professional challenges that keep
businesses from excelling. Find her on
the web at www.SkillsConsulting.com.

Management
Robby Slaughter

Making Meetings Work
for You and Your Business
Chances are pretty good you went to a
meeting this week. And, you probably
felt that at least part of that meeting was
a waste of your time.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
According to effectivemeetings.com,
the typical professional attends more
than sixty meetings a month and reports
that half of meeting time is wasted. With
11 million meetings occurring in the

U.S. every day, we are losing hours of
productivity sitting in offices and conference rooms.
It’s tempting to abandon meetings
altogether, but there are reasons to
meet. People can achieve more by
working as a team. Companies, nonprofits and community organizations
should be meeting. What we need is
a better model.

Meeting Types

There are two kinds of meetings: those
which are routine and those which are
called in response to a crisis. We can’t do
much about the latter because we cannot predict the future. However, regular
meetings can be improved tremendously
by making them more effective, more
engaging, and more productive.
Let’s acknowledge that there are really
only two possible reasons to have a routine meeting: to brainstorm ideas or to

make a decision. There used to be a third
reason to hold a recurring meeting: to
make announcements. This function is
now obsolete thanks to a 4,000 year-old
invention called writing.
Verbal announcements at routine
meetings are the single largest source
of wasted time. An announcement isn’t
the start of a discussion, it’s not up for
debate, nor is it meant to inspire or

educate. Announcements are just facts.
Send them in an email so they can actually be tracked by the recipient—instead
of speaking aloud and hoping people
remember the details.
By eliminating routine announcements
from meetings, we can focus just on the
two categories of tasks: brainstorming
ideas or making decisions. But to do this,
meeting organizers should document
what will occur and what was completed.
This first is called an agenda and the
second is called a summary.

Getting Organized

Without an agenda, meetings are basically social engagements. There’s no
reason to show up except to see people
you know, there’s no knowing what will
actually happen and there’s no clear start
or end. A written agenda allows participants to prepare for a meeting and to
decide if they even need to be involved.
A written agenda also ensures that meetings have a clear purpose. Never hold a

routine meeting without an agenda.
Secondly, the meeting must have a written summary. The other reason meetings
waste our time is a lack of accountability.
An old adage maintains “talk is cheap.”
A summary captures all of the ideas and
decisions made during the meeting. Assigned tasks or next steps are distributed
to the appropriate stakeholders. People
who were not at the meeting can read

the summary to find out what happened.
A meeting summary document helps to
ensure that the meeting has real value
and people carry out assigned work.
If meetings are taking up too much time
in your business, volunteer organization or elsewhere in your professional
life, make these changes. Require that
meetings have agendas and that they be
documented with a meeting summary.
Eliminate announcements from meetings and move them to email or other
publications. And if you’re just someone
attending meetings, not organizing them,
ask if you can help make meetings better.
Call a meeting to discuss ideas, and use
that meeting to demonstrate to others a
smarter way to work.
Robby Slaughter is a principal with
Slaughter Development, an Indianapolis-based business process and workflow
consulting company. More information
is at www.slaughterdevelopment.com

Hamilton County Business Magazine/December 09 • January 10

15

Management
Laina Molaski

Tips for the downsized:
Here’s how to get back in after a job loss
Many people have been asking me this year
to help them find jobs. In my capacity as a
consultant I spend a lot of time looking for
just that right person for my business clients
when they are in need. It has been fairly easy
recently because there are so many talented
and experienced people on the market. While
this has been a good thing for business owners, it is not necessarily a good thing for the
currently unemployed because there is a very
large pool of available talent and the competi-

Follow people in your industry, follow companies in which you are interested. This is a
great way to learn and get exposure. You can
use Twellow to find people with certain key
words in their bio to follow. Strategic usage
can really expand your reach.
c. Many of your friends on Facebook may be
just that, friends. However using your status
updates to keep people up to date on what
you are doing is a good way to stay on the
forefront of people’s mind.

4. Always follow up. Don’t be a pest but follow up at least twice if you have not heard
anything. Just to inquire about the status.

tion is much fiercer. People often ask what
they can do to market themselves. Fortunately, in this day and age of technology and
social media there are many opportunities.

Resumes and Cover Letters

(which is why research is important). The old
rule of thumb of dressing for the job above
the one you want is still a good rule to follow.

Finding Job Leads

1. There is always the traditional way.
Look in the newspaper, on CareerBuilder,
and Monster.
2. Use social media tools
a. Linked In is a great tool for keeping in
touch with business connections and making
new ones. Have previous employers write
you a recommendation, use the status update
feature to let folks know you are on the market and what you are doing, actively look for
connections to the industry or company in
which you are seeking employment.
b. Twitter is a great way to grow your “friend”
base outside the norms of your everyday life.

16

1. Create the most compelling resume you
can, free of flowery language, spelling and
grammar errors, and typos.
2. There is more than one way to write a
resume and the format can be depend on the
job you are seeking and your professional and
educational experience fit for that particular
job. You may want a skills based resume for
some jobs and an experience based resume
for others. Do not cookie cutter. Make sure
each resume is tailored specifically for the job.
3. While many job ads ask for an electronic
resume I recommend always following up
with a mailed or dropped off hard copy. This
shows a higher level of commitment. Sending
an email is easy. It takes a little more effort
to do it the old fashioned way but it will put
your name in front of them twice and that
can be a good thing.

December 09 • January 10/Hamilton County Business Magazine

The Interview

1. Prepare thoroughly. Research the company
and have a list of questions ready to ask about
the company, the culture, where they are
headed etc.
2. Dress professionally and within the guidelines of what is appropriate for the company

Post Interview

1. Follow up is important. After the interview,
even if you decided it probably wasn’t the
job for you, send a follow up thank you note
thanking them for their time.
2. If it is a job you are interested in follow up
at least three times. You want to convey how
interested you are and this extra effort may
help you get an edge over someone else with
similar qualifications but less persistence.
These are just a very few tips to get started on
an effective job search. Your main goal is to
be the one who stands out, in a good way.
Laina Molaski is the president
of C&S Consulting LLC in Fishers

Management
Kyle Lacy

The Future of Selling Is Mobile
The future of marketing is about two
things: portability and experiences. I
am not trying to be a futurist or wave
a magic wand, but it is the truth. The
world of marketing and communication
has already changed and will continue
to change dramatically in the coming
years because of mobile devices, which
give people the ability to share their
experiences in seconds. Whether you
are in a bank or in a restaurant, walking your dog, or hanging with friends
outside a slushy store, you have the
ability to send a comment within a
millisecond, and that has enormous
consequences in the marketing world.
People can choose to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN, Flickr, Plaxo, Myspace,
or any other site online right from their
phone. Pick your poison.

Portability

Portability is mobility. And what does
mobility mean to the marketing and
public relations industries? Everything.
Your marketing department (even if
you’re a department of one) should be
focusing on the portable lives of your
consumers. Have you been focusing
on where your customers are digesting content? Mobile phone domination will grow even larger in the next
couple of years and social media will be
right behind it. There is no better way
(other than text messaging) to utilize
the iPhone or Palm Pre than to take
advantage of applications that can be
used to strengthen relationships with
customers. The concept of social media
won’t die because of the surge of the

mobile device; instead it will grow with
it. Customer service is going to be dependent on using social media because
of people’s ability to share an experience with the world in real time. This is
powerful stuff.

Experiences

Selling in today’s environment is almost
completely dependent on the customers’ experience. Peer recommendations
have always been a staple... referral and
word of mouth marketing are directly
connected to success. Social media
have made experiential marketing and
referral marketing even more powerful
because of the ease of sharing a mes-

sage. Social media are strengthened by
the experiences that customers share
online. It is extremely important for a
business to understand the potential as
well as the importance of using social
media to empower your customers to
share your message.
There are other reasons to join, research, and implement social media but
the future of the tool is in the ability
to leverage portability and customer
experiences.
Kyle Lacy is founder and CEO
of Brandswag, a social media design,
strategy, and education firm.

“7 solid leads
and they’re still coming in”
The owners of the Mill Top Banquet Hall and Conference Center knew there
was a demand for conference space in Noblesville but the response they got from
their single ad in the last Hamilton County Business Magazine was much better
than expected.“It’s the
only place we advertised so we know
where the leads are
coming from,” says
Rocky Shanehsaz.
And, the magazine
circulates for two full
months so it continues
to deliver even after
the initial mailing.
“We’re still getting
calls six weeks later.”

Let us help you
reach more
customers: 774-7747 | mcorbett@hamiltoncountybusiness.com

We are Hamilton County’s best business to business marketing medium
Hamilton County Business Magazine/December 09 • January 10

17

The Fight for the Right to Sell

Sunday sales also on the table as local liquor
stores aim to preserve their market niche
Story and photos by William Fouts

B

rad Rider learned the package liquor
business from the ground up. Starting
as a part-time store clerk for United
Package Liquors, he worked his way up
through the company to become President and CEO of the Indianapolis-based
liquor chain in 2002.
The 40-year-old executive oversees
24 stores, including three in Fishers
and one in Carmel. Last year, United
Package raked in revenues of $25
million, and Rider has plans to add
or acquire more stores.

18

However, proposed legislation before
the Indiana General Assembly could
change those plans. Grocery and convenience store chains and big box general
retailers like Wal-Mart and Meijer are
lobbying to end Indiana’s 76-year ban on
Sunday carryout liquor sales and to extend cold beer sales beyond the exclusive
reach of package liquor stores.
Should a bill pass the legislature, Rider
says Sunday sales alone would force him
to make serious cutbacks.

December 09 • January 10/Hamilton County Business Magazine

“I’m probably going to have to consolidate two or three stores just to survive
Sunday sales,” Rider said.
Randy Zion has been in the package
liquor game for 36 years. He owns two
Vintage Spirits liquor stores in Noblesville and another five Liquor Barn outlets in Indianapolis. Zion says independent owners are already losing ground
to big retail. He offers an even grimmer
assessment.

it will continue its
legislative efforts,
and at least one
legislator is willing
to take up their
cause.
Testifying before
the study committee at its hearing
in September,
Sen. Phil Boots,
Brad Rider, president and CEO of United Package Liquor, is a leader R-Crawfordsville,
in the effort to defeat Sunday carryout sales in Indiana.
said he plans to
introduce a bill
“With six-days a week we may be in
during
the
next
legislative
session. Delong-term trouble. With seven-day a
spite
the
study
committee
vote,
he says
week sales, we may be toast,” he said.
those plans haven’t changed.

Contradictory Laws

Rider and Zion, along with the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers,
which represents 8,000 package liquor
store employees and roughly half of
the approximately 1,000 package liquor
stores in Indiana, are leaders in the fight
against Sunday carryout and cold beer
sales. For the time being, they have the
upper hand.
After two years of examining the issues, the Interim Study Committee on
Alcoholic Beverage Issues, a bipartisan
panel of state lawmakers, voted not to
recommend changing the state’s Sunday
carryout and cold beer sales laws.

“I think it is something that needs to
be done. The laws need to be updated,”
Boots said.
Boots is co-owner of Boots Brothers Oil
Company, which owns four convenience
stores. He and the big retailers argue
Indiana’s liquor laws are antiquated
and contradictory. In testimony before
the study committee, he said 14 states
prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sundays.
However, Indiana is one of only three
that permit alcohol sales by the drink
in bars and restaurants on Sundays,
and Indiana is the only state that allows
grocery, drug and convenience stores to
sell warm beer but not cold beer.

Proponents say allowing Sunday alcohol
sales would be more convenient for
consumers, promote greater competition
and, of course, boost the bottom line for
retailers on the second busiest shopping
day of the week.
On one key point, Zion agrees with
critics of the state’s current liquor laws:
they are contradictory. While access
to package liquor stores is restricted to
customers who are at least 21 years old,
alcoholic beverage sections of grocery
and convenience stores are accessible to
anyone of any age.
By law, liquor stores can carry only
alcoholic beverages and a highly limited
number of ancillary items such as tobacco products, corkscrews, bottle openers, ice, etc. Clerks in package stores
must also be at least 21 and receive
training through the Indiana Alcohol
and Tobacco Commission. In addition,
just to own a liquor store in Indiana, an
owner must be a resident of the state for
at least five years, and the store must be
located within the corporate limits of a
city or town.
“We’ve made all these covenants with the
state, but the grocery stores haven’t had
to,” Zion said. “I don’t think it’s right. I
don’t think it’s fair, and I don’t think is
good for the state of Indiana.”

However, Hoosiers for Beverage
Choices, the lobby group representing
grocery and big box retail interests, says

manager for grocery giant Kroger, said
restricting cold beer sales to package
liquor stores amounts to an unfair statemandated monopoly. He said liquor
stores charge a premium of as much as $4
per case for cold beer.
Beer accounts for 49 percent of sales in
United Package Liquor stores and cold
beer accounts for 80 percent of that.
Rider says adding another 2,300 grocery
and convenience stores as sales points for
cold beer could be devastating to package
liquor stores.
Clerks in grocery and convenience stores
can sell liquor at only 19 and do not
require special training. The big retail
lobby argues walling off their liquor sections and adding trained staff would be
cost prohibitive, prevent shoppers with
children from making alcohol purchases
and limit cross merchandising opportunities. Grocers and big box stores routinely
scatter liquor displays throughout their

stores, pairing them with food items,
party supplies and other merchandise.
“If they want seven-day a week sales,
let’s tell them they have to have the same
controls we have,” Zion said.
But Boots said his bill would not call for
new controls for groceries and big boxes.
His bill would add a special Sunday sales
and cold beer fee for retailers other than
liquor stores. Revenues from those fees
would be used for increased enforcement
and alcohol awareness education.

20

Unfair monopoly?

Proponents say adding Sunday sales
would recapture tax revenues lost to outof-state Sunday sales. According to an
estimate from the Indiana Retail Council,
the state loses as much as $9 million a
year in sales taxes from Hoosiers who
cross state lines on Sundays to buy liquor.
Rider dismisses that notion, arguing alcohol sales flow both ways over Indiana’s

borders. He says while some Hoosiers
may go out of state to buy liquor on Sundays, residents from neighboring states
come to Indiana daily to take advantage
of lower sales tax rates.

“I could sell cold beer at cost and still not
be able to compete with that,” Rider said.
The next move is up to the General
Assembly. Rider says he expects Boots’
bill to get a hearing in the Senate Public
Policy Committee, chaired by Sen. Ron
Alting, R-Lafayette, who was one of the
four Interim Study Committee members
who voted against maintaining the state’s
Sunday carryout sales ban.

Still, he remains optimisic the legislature
will follow the recommendations of the
commitee. In conversations Rider has had
with both Democratic and Republican
leadership, top lawmakers have indicated
there may be little will in the General
Sunday sales would almost certainly
Assembly to pass legislation against the
boost revenues for groceries and
wishes of a taxpayer funded study or one
convenience stores, which are generally
that would weaken liquor regulations
open on Sundays anyway. Rider estimates and/or cost Hoosiers their jobs.
United Package Liquor’s labor costs alone
will increase by $70,000 per store. He
“What gets me about this is not a single
does not project enough sales growth on Wal-Mart or Meijer or grocery store will
Sundays to cover those expenses.
close because of Sunday sales,” Rider said.
Retailers want to sell cold beer as well.
“They’ll be just fine.” v
Speaking before the Interim Study
Committee, John Elliott, public affairs

December 09 • January 10/Hamilton County Business Magazine

Dining Out

Not Just Italian…Northern Italian

Carmel restaurant features unexpected delights from the mountains of Italy
Story and photos by Scott Tyree

later Gino sold the restaurant to current owner Lee Tyler so he could focus
on Ambrosia. Lee left his career in
computer science to pursue his dream
of owning a restaurant. No stranger to
the kitchen, Lee was helping out in his
family’s restaurant as soon as he was able
to peel a potato. His parents owned and
operated the Evergreen Café in downtown Rochester, Indiana from 1971 to
2002, when they decided to sell the business and retire. Their success taught him
that a high quality product coupled with
excellent service is the key to longevity
in the industry.
Over the last decade chefs like Mario
Batali have brought Northern Italian
cuisine into the mainstream. While
Hamilton County enjoys several excellent Italian choices, Carmel’s only locally
owned and operated Italian restaurant is

Mangia, started in 1997 by local legend
Gino Pizzi, owner of Ambrosia Italian
Restaurant in Broad Ripple. Six years

Tucked into a shopping center on the
southwest corner of 116th St. and
Rangeline Road, Mangia is unassuming upon first glance. However, don’t be
fooled by its location. Mangia is a fine
Italian eatery serving food based on 50
to 100 year old recipes. Each night they

mary. Fresh steaks, veal and chicken are
also featured throughout the menu.
Winters in the mountains of Northern
Italy are a stark contrast to the moderate Mediterranean climate in the
south. When winter strikes, people find
comfort in rich, hearty soups. Mangia’s
Chef Raul has seven classic soup recipes
served in rotation. Also comforting during a cold winter is a glass of fine wine.
Mangia’s wine list is comprised of 40
labels, over half of which are imported
from Northern Italy.
Upon entering the restaurant, you will
find a wall covered in neatly framed pictures. A local “celebrity” recently asked
to have his picture placed on the wall
and owner Lee Tyler responded by saying “Come back each month for the next
3 or 4 months and we will talk about it.”

entertain a host of regulars, with some
transient business from the Meridian
St. corridor. The food is authentically
prepared using the freshest possible
ingredients. If you were to arrive before
the 5:00 opening as I did, you would
hear the line cooks anxiously prepping
the ingredients for the night’s service.
The valleys of northern Italy are ideally
suited for raising cattle and hogs, so
beef, veal and pork are important staples
in any northern Italian diet. Mangia’s
Rosticciana is an elegant example of the
role pork plays in the cuisine. Pork loin
is stuffed with pancetta (think of it as
Italian bacon) and mushrooms, topped
with a marsala wine sauce and roasted.
It is finished with a dusting of fresh rose-

Pleasing his loyal customers is what Lee
enjoys most about owning the business and this philosophy has produced
a fiercely loyal following in Hamilton
County. Stop by and find out why people
keep coming back to this unique northern Italian eatery.

Hamilton County Business Magazine/December 09 • January 10

21

Profile

Acorn Farm Antiques
By Deb Buehler
Photos by Bobbie Sutton

gether they were a force of nature in
their own right.

What started in 1933 as an adventure
trek called “Little Acorn” grew to a fullfledged summer camp, and today is a
charming Westfield antique shop.

photo courtesy Jill Mead

Herb and Dee Sweet had just graduated
from Butler University with a strong desire to engage children in nature. Their
first day camp programs were conducted
from the back of a red station wagon
traveling to parks throughout the state.
Together the Sweets grew their interest
in children and nature to the point of
purchasing 40 acres along the banks of
Cool Creek on Oak Road, just north of
161st Street. The property they dubbed
Acorn Farm Camp became one of the
premier private summer day camps in
the country.

Dee and Herb Sweet in the original Acorn
Country Store – Herb passed away in 2000
and Dee in 2007. Both were 92 at the time
of their deaths.

From 1933 until 1977, Acorn Camp
served hundreds of Indianapolis-area
children under the generous and gentle
guidance of Herb Sweet. Herb was an
Eagle Scout, taught at the Orchard
School in Indianapolis and led Boy
Scout troops, teaching his love of the
natural world. Behind the scenes, Dee’s
leadership and management approach
kept the camp running smoothly – to-

22

Their daughters, Judee Sweet and Jill
Sweet Mead, caught the spirit of their
entrepreneurial parents. “They worked
hard continuing to reinvent themselves,”
Judee said. “They loved and listened to
children, were mentors for many of the
counselors and showed everyone that
the best way to learn was by doing.”
Everything at camp was interactive. If
you were fishing for crawdads, Herb was
teaching about the life cycle of a crawdad. Children could choose their activities and counselors. From sand lot ball to
hiking trails to pony rides to swimming
to fishing the creek, there was something
for everyone. Herb and Dee were behind
it all with creativity and enthusiasm.
“Mom and Dad were committed,
worked hard and brought integrity to all
of it,” Judee said. “There were hardly ever
discipline problems because everything
that fascinated Dad fascinated kids too.
Children were allowed to make mistakes
and learn from them.”

From Camp to Antiques

Herb and Dee were curious adults and
life-long learners. As an adult, Dee
continued taking courses at Butler. They
both read extensively and liked to talk
about many
different
things. From
a desire to
teach history grew the
Acorn Country Store. The
building for
the store was
dismantled
and moved to the farm from its original
location on State Road 32.

December 09 • January 10/Hamilton County Business Magazine

Mic and Jill Mead

“As kids began learning about the country store,” Judee explained, “they wanted
to be able to buy things there.” That’s
how the antique business began.
In 1959 the Sweets built a new structure
on the property to serve as Acorn Farm
Antiques. Complete with a kitchen, two
bathrooms and what could be three bedrooms, the building beautifully shows off
the antiques still sold there today.
As an adult, Jill’s life had taken her and
her family to California. Fifteen years
ago they returned to Indiana. “We were
fortunate to be able to buy the farm
when it became too much for Dad
to care for. They closed the store and
moved to Carmel. Not long after we
moved to the farm, we re-opened the
store under our own management.”
Jill, her husband Mic, and daughter
Becky operate the Acorn Farm Antiques
today. Because of the store, Jill and Judee
often see former campers and counselors. “People come back to the camp with
tears in their eyes,” Jill said. “They relive
their childhood memories and share the

News
Senior Housing Apartments Open in Noblesville and Sheridan
Low-income seniors have new,
Creek and from $305 to
affordable options in Nobles$550 at Spicewood. All
ville and Sheridan. Hamilton
six Noblesville apartCounty Area Neighborhood
ments are already rented
Development, Inc. (HAND)
to approved tenants. The
has opened Plum Tree Garmajority of the units at
dens – a six unit duplex comSpicewood are already
munity at South and Sixth
rented as well.
Plum Tree Gardens
Spicewood Gardens
Streets in Noblesville and
Spicewood Gardens, a 25 unit apartment community west of State Both developments are funded through a combination of federal,
Road 38 and just north of 2nd Street in Sheridan. Both communi- state and county affordable housing program funds. The City
ties consist of two-bedroom duplexes with covered front porches.
of Noblesville waived park, road and sanitary sewer impact fees
along with building permits and other fees. Both are candidates for
Independent living communities for seniors 55 and older, Plum
LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, containTree Gardens and Spicewood Gardens are HAND’s first affordable ing environmentally friendly features like native plants in the
rental housing option in the county. Both apartment complexes
landscaping and energy efficient fixtures and materials.
have many details enabling residents to age in place, including
accessibility for those who cannot walk HAND was formed as a nonprofit organization in 2003 in
easily, washers and dryers, walk-in clos- response to a housing needs assessment by the Hamilton County
ets and two emergency call buttons in
Board of Commissioners, which identified a substantial need
each apartment. Rents are determined
for housing in the county that is affordable for working families,
based upon resident income with a
seniors and those with disabilities. For more information visit
range from $400-$450 monthly at Plum www.handincorporated.org.

Jaros Receives State Award

Janet S. Jaros,
Clerk-Treasurer for
the City of Noblesville,
was awarded the 2009
Financial Management
Award from the Indiana
Association of Cities and
Janet S. Jaros Towns. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in fiscal
management, financial recording, and
leadership in public office. Jaros is now in
her fourth term as clerk-treasurer and has
received the Certificate of Achievement
for Excellence in Financial Reporting
every year since 1999.

Developer Buys Sheridan School

A Noblesville developer plans
to renovate Sheridan’s Adams
Elementary school into offices
and a conference center. Rocky
Shanehsaz submitted the high bid
of $85,000 for the school, which
is still being used for classes this
year. Shanehsaz will begin work in
August. He has been remodeling
Noblesville’s Model Mill building
into office space and a banquet
center. Sheridan’s new elementary
school opens this fall.

Fohrer promoted
at Community Health

Jon Fohrer has been promoted to CEO
of ambulatory services for the Community Health Network.
He had served as
network vice president of ambulatory
services since 2002
and led the orthopedic service line
since 2006.
Jon Fohrer

Hamilton County Business Magazine/December 09 • January 10

23

News
tel,” said Paul O’Conner, General Manager.
Peterson’s Restaurant, Fishers was honored in the business category for their
outstanding service.

Carmel
Offers Alternative
Transportation System
The Carmel Access Bikeway System
(CAB) is completed and will provide safer
alternative transportation for cyclists. The
CAB network uses city streets, multi-use
paths, and bike lanes in a system of loops
and express routes for cyclists to use.
Five CAB loops are geared toward
recreational rides, range from seven
to fourteen miles, and navigate riders
throughout the city.

City Hall and then “take the CAB”! For
more information and examples of signage, visit www.bikecarmel.com.

Convention and Visitors Bureau
Awards Tourism STAR

Britni Stephens of Renaissance Indianapolis/North, Carmel was named Tourism
Star for the third quarter. “Britni is one
of the most dependable, consistent and
friendly associates at the Renaissance Ho-

Express Routes are more direct and are
intended to help cyclists, especially commuters, get from one side of Clay Township to the other more efficiently and
safely. There are two north/south and six
east/west express routes.
Cyclists are able to travel anywhere within
Carmel on the CAB system. Signs and
pavement inlays help cyclists of all skill
levels navigate. The pavement inlays are
simply arrows color coded according to
the bike route or loop and show the direction that cyclists should travel.

Paul O’Conner and Britni Stephens

Ron Carter, City Council member and
bicycling advocate, noted that Carmel
has well over 100 miles of new bicycling
infrastructure. “This is another indication
of why Carmel has been chosen by the
League of American Bicyclists as a Bicycle
Friendly City”. He urges Carmel residents
to pick up one of the new route maps at

Carmel High School and Purdue University grad Ted Allen, writer and star of the
shows “Chopped” and “Food Detectives,”
will star in a 2010 web and print promotional campaign in key HC target travel
markets. “His reputation as a smart yet
approachable food expert, and his close
ties to Hamilton County make him an
appealing spokesperson,” says Convention
and Visitors Bureau Executive Director
Brenda Myers.

News
Healthcare Campus
Opens in Noblesville

Ted Allen

“I’m delighted to serve as Hamilton
County’s official Foodie for this campaign,
for lots of reasons.” Allen said. “It reflects
the fact that the delicious, seasonal, localoriented cooking is sweeping the country
and that’s exciting. There are so many
delicious and ambitious restaurants in the
area now, as well as great farmer’s markets
and other food and wine attractions. I’m
proud of my home town for that, and I’m
happy to help them tell that story.”

Jackson Commercial Real Estate and
Community Health Network opened
Hamilton Healthcare Campus on the
southwest corner of 146th Street and
Cumberland Road in Noblesville.
Initially, Community Health Network
will occupy 40,000 square feet of the
122,000-square-foot, three-story building.
The medical facility will include primary
care services, physician specialists, a
MedChek, imaging services, rehab and
sports medicine, and a community
conference center for patient education
and use by community groups.

Members of Community Health Network
cutting the ribbon at the Hamilton
Healthcare Campus grand opening event
include (from left to right)
Nichole Wilson, director, Community
Rehab & Sport Medicine Center;
Jeff Beatty, director, Community Imaging
Center; Gary Erskine, regional practice
director, Community Physicians of
Indiana; Jon Fohrer, vice president,
Ambulatory Division, Community Health
Network; Steven Wilk, MD, Community
Physicians of Noblesville, Community
Physicians of Indiana; David Bolin, MD,
Community Physicians of Noblesville,
Community Physicians of Indiana.

Sherri Dawson,
Autumnwood Village,
presented the Business
Spotlight at the
October luncheon

Shawn Neal, Anderson Creative
Solutions, was the October
luncheon speaker providing
members with tips on using
social networking sites.
Dr. Richard Hayes/
Clarian Health Cicero
prepares for a
massage from
Vickie Rodgers/
Hamilton County
Chiropractic

First Merchants showed
their Team Spirit with
Mary Ann Uberto and
Charlie Horse; First
Merchants shared the
People’s Choice award
with Alexander’s Catering

Len Finchum, Street Commissioner
for the Noblesville Street Department,
was honored for his service to the
community at the Chamber’s September
membership luncheon. Mayor Ditslear
presented the certificate.

www.noblesvillechamber.com

Mudsocks Grill
14741 Hazel Dell Crossing, Suite 1000

NOBLESVILLE

December 9 – 8:00 a.m.
Chamber University

Cambria Suites receives the Community
Pride Award for September. Lou Anne
Willis and Mark Kuiper accepted the
award presented by the Chamber.
Cambria is located at 13500 Tegler Drive
across from Hamilton Town Center.

New Chamber Assistant
The Chamber began an Internship this year with
students. Acacia Scott, the first intern, graduated
in May and is now attending Ball State University.
Our second intern is Ashley Gibson. Ashley is a
freshman at Sheridan High School and began her
duties at the Chamber in August this year. Ashley
is in the office Monday thru Friday from 3:15 to
5:15p.m. Please stop in and say welcome her to
the Chamber. For those who know Doug Gibson,
our friendly UPS Representative, Ashley is his
daughter. Ashley is doing a wonderful job!

The Sheridan Chamber of Commerce
wishes everyone a very Happy Holiday!

At the Holiday Luncheon on December 3, the Chamber is collecting Canned Food
donations to benefit MAMA’s Cupboard! Please bring a can or two to Help For The Holidays!

Mark The Date!
Sheridan Sesquicentennial
June 25 - July 4, 2010
The Sheridan Chamber is looking for guest speakers for 2010! If you or you know someone
who would like to speak, please contact the chamber office at 758-1311!

30

Be sure to visit the Sheridan Chamber Website, www.sheridanchamber.org
for information on all upcoming events!
December 09 • January 10/Hamilton County Business Magazine

Old Country Buffet, Village Park Plaza – Westfield
Reservations: 317-804-3030
or info@westfield-chamber.org

Membership Luncheon
January 21st ~ 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

“Westfield Chamber 2010”
Meet new board members and hear
about plans and projects for the upcoming year.
The Bridgewater Club
161st and Carey Road ~ Westfield
Reservations: 317-804-3030
or info@westfield-chamber.org

WESTFIELD CHAMBER’S HAPPENINGS FROM OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 2009

Gerry Dick, President, and
Managing Editor of Grow
INdiana Media Ventures,
addressed the state of the
Indiana economy with the
Westfield Chamber of
Commerce membership.

Members of all six Hamilton County Chambers came together for a
countywide networking breakfast at the Mansion at Oak Hill.

Bolden’s Cleaning and Restoration staff along with Mayor
Ditslear cut the ribbon celebrating the opening of their
new location at 112 Park 32 West Drive in Noblesville.

This is the first in the 2010 Legislative
Breakfast Series. - Sponsored by Krieg DeVault
The Mansion at Oak Hill
116th Street & Hazel Dell Parkway
Reservations: 317-804-3030
or info@westfield-chamber.org

WESTFIELD

Old Country Buffet
Village Park Plaza – Westfield
Reservations: 804-3030 or info@westfield-chamber.org

The Westfield Chamber can be seen
each month on Comcast Channel 19.
Hometown Television produces the show and
Sanders Glen Senior Apartment Community
in Westfield is the host location.

Hamilton County Business Magazine/December 09 • January 10

31

…

Hamilton County History
David Heighway

The Fur Trade –
Hamilton County’s First Industry
When it comes to business models, the simple exchange of one item for another is
about as basic as it gets. For close to a century, from around 1717 to around 1820,
this kind of activity is what powered the economy of the area that would become
Hamilton County. The fur trade was the first known business and the root of all that
came afterward.
The aboriginal residents and the first European traders both came
to the area in the same way – via the trail from the Ohio River
to the Wabash River that was later known by the name of the
Lafayette Trace. The first European traders in the area that
we know of were probably from Vincennes. The Brouilettes
were a French family that received a license in 1801 to
trade with the Miami Indians. This apparently included
the Delaware Indians who had obtained permission from
the Miamis in the late 1700’s to settle in the area after
being pushed from their homes in the east.
The Brouilettes, (also spelled Bruett, Bullett, Bennett, etc.), established a trading post at the Delaware
village on the site of present-day Strawtown. This was
a prime spot, as it was the largest village in the area.
The family also established a post at what was known
as Lower Delaware Village, which was roughly where 96th
Street crosses White River today (you could say they were the
first Castleton merchants). Members of the family – John Brouilette and his halfDelaware wife, Barbara – stayed in the county until the 1820’s and owned property
in the area that would become Carmel.

William Conner arrives

The best known trader in the area was William Conner. He arrived in 1802 and
established his post on a ford in the river where Conner Prairie is today. Conner had
established his credibility with the Indians by marrying a Delaware woman named
Mekinges who was related to several tribal leaders. He was quite successful in his
trading business.
The only other trader that we know lived in the area was Pete Smith – an AfricanAmerican who lived with Indians at the spot on White River where it is joined by
Stoney Creek. We don’t know when he arrived, but it was sometime before 1819.

In the archeological work at Strawtown Koteewi Park, a piece of trade silver was
found. This was a silver pin that could be worn on the clothing as an ornament
and could be traded again later. The Indians in return had pelts from nearly every
kind of animal in the area – the most valuable being beaver.
The Indians were very shrewd in their trading. Since most bundles of pelts were
sold by weight, they would often not scrape all of the animal tissue from the
skin side. This would sometimes be discovered when the pelts were inspected
for quality. A key sign of quality was the color of the skin side. If the animal was
killed in the proper season, a skin would be yellow – out of season, the skin
would be blue. Generally, though, the skins prepared by the Indians were considered to be of superior quality to those prepared by Europeans.
We have some idea of prices from William Conner’s dealings with later trappers.
In 1800’s values, beaver skins were worth $1.00 to $1.25 a pound, while an entire
deerskin was $1.00 for a buck and 67 to 75 cents for a doe. A bearskin could be
worth anywhere from $1.25 to $5.00, depending on quality. Fox, mink, and
wildcat were 50 to 67 cents. Raccoons were very plentiful and were worth 37 ½
to 40 cents, but a good skin could bring $1.00. Muskrats were 25 cents, and
weasels, ground hogs, and opossums, while used by the Indians in their clothing,
had no trade value.

Price Points

The fur trade in Hamilton County could be considered to have ended with Treaty
of St. Mary’s in 1818, when the Indians agreed to move farther west and the area
was opened to white settlement. The Delaware were gone by 1822, removing
one of the key sources of pelts. Mekinges went with them and Conner married a
white woman settler about three months after she left. The Brouilettes had already returned to Vincennes. Pete Smith was taken away by a man who claimed
that Smith was his runaway slave and was never seen again. Pioneers moved
into the area and began clearing the forest for farming. The animal population
dropped rapidly, with most of the larger animals gone by the 1860’s. There
was still some interest in hides and pelts. The first industry in Noblesville was
Cogswell’s tannery, which was started in 1825. However, a changing economic
base signaled the end of the opening chapter in the county’s history.

All of these people exchanged various manufactured items with the Indians for
animal pelts. The traders would offer utensils, cloth, metal knives and other things.
David Heighway is the Hamilton County historian.

32

December 09 • January 10/Hamilton County Business Magazine

…

Calendar
This information is accurate as of press time. Please check chamber websites for updates.

Digitally printed signs and banners
of any size, vehicle wraps and
graphics, T-shirt printing, laser
engraving. Great customer service,
fast turn-around. Family Owned and
Operated. Serving Noblesville and
Hamilton County since 1992.
Also home of Noblesville Trophies
773-7391 Open M-F 9-6 Sat. 10-2

Community Resources
Hamilton County
Autism Support Group
19215 Morrison Way
Noblesville, IN 46060

The Hamilton County Autism Support
Group provides community awareness
and helps support families where lives
are challenged by Autism, a disability
that typically appears during the first
three years of life and affects social
interaction and communication skills.
HCASG provides Support Meetings,
Autism Siblings Program, Young Adults
Social Group, Girls on the Spectrum
and more.
For more information,
contact Jane Grimes at 317-403-6705

Or visit www.hcasg.org

Computer Consulting

Confectioner Carl Harvey carries on
the tradition begun by his Uncle Henry
years ago by producing chocolates
with the old family recipe. You can
experience the tradition by placing
an order today. Visit the website and
select from the wonderful turtles, milk
and dark chocolate bark with pecans,
m&m bark, bark with peppermint, peanut clusters and pecan logs produced
locally in Hamilton County.

• Business Computer Hardware
and Software Installation
• Custom Application Development
• On-Site Support and Service

Service Club
Rotary International

The Noblesville Midday Rotary Club
is one of 32,000 local Rotary clubs
throughout the world and six in
Hamilton County. Open to all persons
regardless of race, color, creed or
political preference, Rotary brings together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service,
encourage high ethical standards in all
vocations, and help build goodwill and
peace in the world. Each club meets
weekly. For more information on the
Noblesville Midday Rotary Club
Call Gloria Davis 317-877-0051

Senior Apartments

Independent & Assisted Living
334 S. Cherry Street
Westfield, IN 46074
(317) 867-0212
debbi@sandersglen.com
www.exceptionallivingcenters.com
Independent and State-licensed
Assisted Living apartments for seniors
age 55 and over. All meals, utilities
except telephone, free use of washers/
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Planned activities and weekly
transportation for shopping.
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receive first month’s rent FREE!
Call Debbi to schedule a tour today!

“Old school’s great for some things.
Kidney surgery isn’t on the list.”

After ten years of being free of thyroid cancer, a routine scan detected a lesion
on Scot’s kidney. It was time for Scot to be as stubborn as the cancer. Upon
learning his usual hospital didn’t offer the expertise to do a less invasive
procedure, he turned researcher and found the ideal team at Community
Hospital North. A specially trained surgeon and a robot. A robot named
daVinci to be precise. An amazing piece of technology in the hands of a
highly skilled expert. “When you’re having part of your kidney removed”,
explains Scot, “the first thing you want removed is any doubt about the surgery
or where to have it done.” All went well. Scot’s primary physician and the
Community surgeon were both on the same page and Scot was back on his
field construction job much sooner than if he had elected to go with the
standard laparoscopic technique. It was the perfect blend of man and machine.
“I’m not very old-fashioned,” says Scot, “until it comes to happy endings.”